


Stormy Weather

by daoinhe



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Character Bonding, Friendship, Gen, Major Character Injury, Possible Relationship, Some Fluff, respect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-20 11:43:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12432120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daoinhe/pseuds/daoinhe
Summary: My first fanfic, so be gentle.  Sniper and Pyro get stranded in a blizzard, forcing them to bond.





	1. Chapter 1

Pyro sat in the front of the van and stared out the windows at the passing landscape. “Trees and snow, trees and snow.” She singsonged under her breath. One finger came up to trace a picture on the window.  


“Don’t even think it.” Sniper didn’t raise his voice, but Pyro’s finger curled back into her fist and she immediately put her hand back in her lap. The trip had gone like this for the past four hours. Sniper drove, she stared out the window and tried to be really quiet. She sighed.  


Sniper’s eyes cut to her quickly then back to the snow covered road. He almost felt bad for the girl, but this was his damned van and he did not want things drawn all over it. He reached down with one hand and flipped on the radio, adjusting the volume down. Johnny Cash’s voice filled the silence, easing the tension in his shoulders and back a bit. Maybe this would keep her entertained.  


Pyro grunted as the van bounced over a snow covered pothole. Fingers idly tracing patterns on her jeans, she hummed along with the radio. Patsy Cline was wailing about her love life, and on impulse, Pyro threw her head back and howled.  


Sniper jumped at the noise, skin crawling slightly as Pyro perfectly reproduced the yowling of a coyote. Tilting his head slightly to the side he grinned and let loose with a perfect dingo howl, then added in the baiting noises used to draw them closer.  


Pyro adjusted the pitch of her howls down a bit, yapping like a pup looking for its mamma, then suddenly collapsed into a fit of giggles.  


Choking back his own laughter, Sniper howled a final time, then glanced over to her, curled up in the seat beside him. One last sound, he thought to himself, then I’ll stop. He chuckled out the trilling laugh of a kookaburra, then fell silent. There was no sound from the girl, and he risked taking his eyes from the icy road for a moment. She was sitting there watching him with a very odd look.  
“What?” He said finally.  


“What on earth was that last noise?” Her eyes widened. “It sounded like a monster.”  


Sniper chuckled. “Nah, just a kookaburra. Those things make all sorts of weird noises, but they won’t hurt ya. Scare ya to death at four in the morning though.”  


“That’s an Australian bird, right?” She smiled. “What’s Australia like?”  


“Hot. Dusty.” Sniper said wryly. “Not snowy, that’s for sure.”  


Pyro settled back into her seat, lips still curved up. “Kookaburra.” She grinned. “What’s it look like?”  
Sniper sighed. “It’s just a bird. I’ll show you a picture when we get back to the base.” He winced as the tail end of the van fishtailed slightly. “But right now, I need to drive, not talk about birds.”  


Pyro nodded and settled back into her seat. Pyro watched the sky turn from blue to gunmetal gray. She cracked the window a quarter inch, letting in an arctic gust of air and sniffed. “It’s gonna snow.” She said quietly, rolling the window back up. “Soon.”  


Sniper glanced at her. “Weatherman’s not calling for it. Besides, we’ll be at the new base in about two hours. As long as it holds off, we’ll be fine.” He glanced up worriedly. “I think we’ll make it in plenty of time.”  


Sniper glanced up at the rapidly darkening skies again. He gently gave the van gas, speeding up a bit. The road stretched out before them, empty and icy. He cursed as the backend fishtailed again, then slowed back down. Pyro continued to stare out the window, biting on her thumbnail.  


They drove in silence for a while, then Sniper cursed again as a few isolated flakes of snow landed on the van’s windshield. Within a half mile, even with the wipers on, the snow was blinding. Sniper cursed louder as the van trundled along at five miles an hour, still sliding every time they rounded a curve.  


Pyro glanced over at him. “Do you want me to drive?” She deliberately kept her voice low, not giving in to the unease she was starting to feel.  
“NO!” Sniper exploded. “If I wanted you to drive, I would ask you to drive! Damn it, it’s just a little snow.” He glared at the road, concentrating fully on the van’s treacherous path. After a moment, he sighed. “Look, I’m sorry for yelling at you. It’s not your fault it’s snowing.”  


Pyro gave him a half smile, really just an upward twitch of the corner of her mouth. “It’s okay.” She gripped the dash a bit tighter. “I’m just gonna be… LOOK OUT!” She yelled.  


Sniper looked back at the road just in time to see the enormous branch crash to the ground in front of them. He instinctively stomped on the brake and the van skidded dangerously, the back end lurching around and pushing the front end forward. Sniper tried to steer out of the sideways skid with no luck. There was nothing for the tires to find purchase on and the forward momentum of the van was taking them straight into the ditch.  


The van stopped moving with a sudden crash and spray of steam from the front end as it smashed over the ditch and into the bank. Sniper grunted as he hit the steering wheel, his head snapping back with whiplash force. Pyro didn’t fare so well, even braced for the impact, she was thrown off the seat and into the windshield with a sickening thud. Her head recoiled off the windshield and into the side window, cracking it. Pyro slumped down in her seat, boneless and limp.


	2. Stranded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit longer than the last. We get to see Sniper's sense of humor coming out a bit! Which is a good thing, because being stranded with Pyro, he's gonna need that sense of humor.

Sniper took a deep breath, fighting off the pain of at least one cracked rib and reached down to shut off the idling engine. He steadied himself and touched Pyro’s shoulder, shaking her. Her head lolled to the side and he grimaced at the blood pouring down the side of her face. 

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his handkerchief and pressed it to the wound hard. Pyro groaned and her eyes fluttered open, dazed and clouded with pain. She looked up at him looming over her and reached up to her head, feeling over his fingers and then pulling her hand back down. She tried to focus on it, then looked back up at him. “I’m bleeding?” Her voice rose on the last syllable, turning the statement into a question. 

“Yeah,” Sniper murmured, “But its okay, I’ve got ya.” He shifted slightly in the van’s seat, gasping at the white hot pain that flared through his side with the movement. 

Pyro frowned. “You’re hurt.” This was a statement. “How bad?”

“Eh, I think I cracked a rib or two.” He smiled wryly. “Nothing that hasn’t happened before. You’re the one bleeding all over my van.” 

Pyro’s eyes moved back and forth, seeming to clear a bit. “I’m sorry.” She muttered. “I didn’t mean to make a mess.” 

Sniper frowned and used his pressure holding hand to tilt her head back a bit so he could look directly into her eyes. He’d never noticed before, but they were the same shade of gray as the winter sky before the snow had fallen. “I was teasing ya, pup.” He smiled slightly. “If anybody should apologize, I’m the one who hit the bloody brakes.” 

She smiled faintly. “Apology accepted. I still think you should have let me drive.” She tried to wink, a difficult thing with one eye swelling shut. 

Sniper chuckled. “Yeah well, we’re stuck now.” He shifted slightly, wincing again. “Do you think you can hold pressure while I go look for some bandages?”

Pyro reached up, her hand replacing his on the now saturated handkerchief. She watched as he pulled himself out of the seat and slowly over it. His body hit the floor with a loud thump on the back side of the seat. “Sniper?” She turned and peered down over the seatback at him, laying on the floor, looking up at the van’s ceiling. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He grimaced. “Just seemed a lot easier to do it this way. I forgot I have to get back up.”

Pyro reached her hand down to him. “Grab on, I’ll help.” 

He took the outstretched hand and with him pushing up and her pulling, they managed to get him back onto his feet with only one scream of pain. He whimpered slightly as he regained his balance. “Damn. I forgot how much this hurts.” Muttering under his breath, he walked slowly through the back of the van to the first aid kit. 

He pulled it open and dug through the contents, talking quietly under his breath the entire time. Grabbing a handful of supplies, he walked to the small fridge, pulled it open and got out a jar of water. He unscrewed the lid, popped two pain pills into his mouth and washed them down with a swig of water. He was starting back to the front of the van when he stopped suddenly, pulled the fridge door open again and crowed in delight. “Sandvich, pup!” 

Pyro peered over the seat at him, utter confusion on her face. As he pulled Heavy’s special concoction out of the fridge and unwrapped the waxed paper, she grinned in sudden understanding. He split the sandvich in half then bit into part of it. Chewing frantically, he swallowed his half quickly. He could already feel the pain lessening as the sandvich’s healing powers began to work. 

Walking back to Pyro along the van’s tilted floor, he kicked through things that had fallen over at their impact with the bank. Reaching her, he handed her the sandvich half. “Eat.” He watched her as she brought the sandvich to her mouth, then gagged and tried to hand it back. 

“I can’t. It’s the smell.” 

Sniper frowned. “That’s the head wound. I was afraid of this.” He glanced at her worriedly, then sighed. “You have a concussion, pup. You need to eat that, and keep it down. It’s the best I can do for you without Medic here. “

Pyro sighed. “But, I…”

“No.” Sniper interrupted her. “You will eat that, and you will not vomit. You are a mercenary and I need you functional. I don’t have time to mollycoddle you.” He glared at her. “Now eat.”

Pyro brought the sandvich back up to her mouth and took a small bite, chewing even as her stomach rebelled. She didn’t want to piss Sniper off any more than he already was, Lord knew the man was famous for his short temper. She swallowed the bite and took another, chewing morosely. She had no desire to be killed by a teammate this far from respawn, and there was a good chance that if he was mad enough, he might forget there was no respawn out here.

Pyro paused after the second bite, realizing that the urge to puke was leaving her. She bit into the sandvich a third time, chewed, swallowed and quickly finished it off. 

Sniper smiled proudly. “Good job, pup. Now, let’s get you cleaned up.” 

Sniper led her to the sink in the van and, running a bit of water onto a clean cloth, began to wash the blood off her face. He frowned faintly as he cleaned her head. He’d never actually realized how short she was. The top of her head was near his chin. Honestly though, it made cleaning her head wound a lot easier. He continued to wipe blood away, rinsing the cloth occasionally. At last he could see the wound, it was a small laceration, maybe two inches long, and already scabbing over thanks to the sandvich. With gentle hands he applied a dressing, then tousled her short auburn hair. “All done.” He pointed to his shaving mirror hanging on the wall, chuckling when she stood on tiptoe to get a full view of her face. 

Pyro turned from the mirror in time to see him hide a smile. “It looks good.” She said. “As good as a big bandage can look anyway.” She sighed. “So, what now?” 

Sniper glanced out the window at the near white out conditions and sighed as yet another gust of wind rocked the van. “We wait.” 

“Do you think the rest of the team will come get us?” Pyro began picking things up from the floor and handing them to Sniper to stow away. “They won’t be able to make it through this mess either, will they?” The worry was evident in her voice. 

 

Sniper shook his head. “When we don’t show up at the base, they’ll think we holed up somewhere and took cover. When we don’t show up the next day, they’ll look for us.” He sighed. “It shouldn’t take too long for them to find us. Or for someone to find us. Hell, I’d take a ride from Blu at this point, wouldn’t you?” 

Pyro shook her head. “I don’t know if I’m that close to Donner Party yet. If they can’t drive any better than they can shoot, we may as well stay here.”

Sniper chuckled. “Says the girl sitting in a wrecked van.” 

Pyro frowned. “My suit is in the truck with the guys. If Blu finds us, they’re gonna know I’m a girl.” She looked down at the floor, tracing a pattern in spilled flour with her toe. “If they find out I’m a girl, my days on the team are numbered.” 

Sniper shrugged. “You have a point. If Blu comes, I’ll go with ‘em and get one of our guys to drive back and pick you up. We’ll have to come back for the van anyway, so it ought not be a problem.” 

Pyro nodded gratefully.

Sniper kept talking, wanting to reassure her. “It’ll be okay. We have food, we have shelter. We have plenty of gas for the genny. Even if we’re stuck for a day or two, we’ll be fine.” He sighed. “You want to help me dig through this mess? I think I have a notebook around here somewhere, and some pencils. I know it’s not much, but at least you can draw. Plus, I have books. We can always read if we get bored. It’ll be like a mini vacation.” 

Pyro smiled at his attempts to distract her. She began to straighten up the van, helping him pick up cups and plates and other things that had spilled out of cupboards. When she picked up his favorite coffee mug and turned it around to the #1 Sniper side, she actually laughed out loud. 

“We need to make sure the tailpipe of the van doesn’t get covered up by snow. The fumes will come inside and that won’t be good. While we’re at it, we’ll rig up a tarp to keep that area clear of drifts.” He grabbed some rope and a tarp from an overhead compartment, then sighed. “I don’t have a shovel. We’re gonna have to tramp the snow down.” 

Pyro grinned. “If only you had gotten stranded with Solly, right?” 

They dressed in their winter gear, Pyro pulled on a heavy coat, hat, gloves, and her striped scarf. She peeked out of a narrow slit of material at him. Sniper laughed. “You look like that kid from “A Christmas Story.’ The one who got his tongue stuck to a flagpole? What was his name?”

Pyro shrugged. “Don’t know. I’ve never seen the movie.” She put her hand on the door handle. “You done laughing at me now?” She pushed the van’s door open a crack and looked outside, then shut the door with a curse. “I don’t wanna go out there. It’s terrible.”

Sniper moved up beside her and looked out. The wind howled, blowing snow inside the van through the narrow crack in the door and the temperature had to be below zero. He groaned, then looked at the drifts already surrounding the van. They were knee deep and it had only been snowing for about two hours. This was not gonna be fun at all. With a heartfelt sigh, he heaved the door open against the wind and stepped out into the snow. He immediately sank to his knees. Sighing again, he began to trudge around the van, tramping the snow as flat as possible. He looked back at the door to the van and saw Pyro hop down into the snow behind him. She began to trudge through the white stuff, he could just hear her grumbling over the howl of the wind. He tried not to laugh as she slipped and fell. When she didn’t get back up, he tromped over to where she lay. Looking down at the bundle of scarves and hat and mittens, he held out his hand. Pyro grasped it and pulled. 

Taken off guard, Sniper felt his balance go and he began windmilling his feet, trying to keep from falling. It was useless. He landed butt first in the snow beside her and growled low in his throat. “Pyro.” He growled, his voice menacing. “I’m gonna get you for this.” He rolled over but she was already scrambling to her feet, or trying to at least. She wasn’t finding much purchase in the snow, so it was more an undignified flailing of limbs. Sniper got his feet back under him and grabbed her by the scarf, pulling her back and up. Both hands flew to her neck, as she felt his other hand grab the back of her coat. With a grunt, Sniper picked her up, carried her over to a deep drift and, pausing a moment for effect, dropped her. Pyro sank at least three feet before she met the ground. She flailed, trying to get the white powder out of her mouth and eyes, trying to get out of it altogether. 

Sniper was laughing, great big guffaws as he watched Pyro flail about in the snow. At last he reached in and grabbed the back of her coat again, hoisting her to her feet. She turned on him, covered in powder and launched a snow ball point blank at him. It splatted on his chest, and Sniper looked down in amazement. “Really?” he asked. “You had to go there?” Stooping, he scooped up double handfuls of snow, packing them quickly into balls. He heard Pyro moving behind him, and turning suddenly, let loose with the snowballs, targeting her precisely in the back of the head with one, and right between the shoulder blades with the other. 

The battle lasted for a good ten minutes, Pyro’s snowballs big and splashy, Sniper’s tightly packed and precise, targeted to gaps in clothing before finally she put both hands up, panting hard. “I surrender!” she cried out, ducking to avoid yet another precision throw. “Uncle! Uncle! You are the snowball King!” She giggled the last bit out as Sniper looked around. The snow in front of the van was tight packed now from their running around. The tailpipe was uncovered, the van was splattered in snow, and the sun was starting to go down. Working quickly, they spread a tarp over the area, fastening it to the side of the van, then roped off the edges at waist height to keep from getting lost in the blizzard. Stamping snow off their feet, they went inside, closing the door on the swiftly falling night. 

Sniper started the genny and began stripping off his soaked outerwear, Pyro doing the same on the other side of the van. Dripping clothing was hung over the heat vent and Pyro grinned as their clothes billowed on the currents of air. She grabbed her knapsack off the floor where she had stowed it, and began to dig out clean clothes. Sniper watched as she started to pull her shirt over her head. “Uh uh, turn around.” She made a spinning motion with her finger and he obediently turned to face the wall. There was rustling, and finally she said, “Okay to turn back now.” He turned back and tried to hide his laughter. She was wearing a long sleeved shirt with a rubber duck on it. 

“That’s not regulation.” He pointed out. “Even if the duck is wearing a red scarf.”

Pyro shrugged. “My brother gave it to me before I left home. He used to wear it all the time, and he wanted me to have something to remember him by.”

Sniper frowned. “You have a brother?”

“Three.” She answered. “And three sisters. You?”

“Nah, it’s just me. My folks wanted more kids, but it didn’t happen for them.” He smiled. “I guess that’s why they worry so much about me now.”

She shrugged. “They’re parents. Don’t matter if they have one or twenty one, they still worry.” She sat down at the table and began to trace patterns on it with her finger. Studiously turning her face to the window, she listened as he rummaged around for dry clothes and then changed into them. “Hey Sniper, why don’t you have kids?”

He choked. “WHAT?” Then he shrugged and sat down at the table across from her. “I’m a professional killer, pup. I travel. A lot. That’s no way to bring up a kid.” He glanced down at the patterns she was tracing. “Besides, how do you know I don’t have kids? I don’t even know for sure.” 

Pyro glanced up as a particularly strong gust of wind rocked the van. “Did you want kids? Like, when you were a kid?”

Sniper shrugged. “Can’t say I ever gave it much thought. What’s this sudden interest in kids, anyway?”

Pyro shrugged. “Just making conversation.”

“Well, make it about something else.” Sniper noted the hurt in her eyes at his harsh tone and softened his voice. “Like maybe dinner? I’m guessing you’re hungry by now?” 

Pyro’s face lit up. “Yes! I’m starving! What do you suggest?” She pointed outside. “Nothing on the Barbie, k?”

He chuckled at her attempt to imitate his accent. It had been pretty close. “No, nothing on the Barbie. I was thinking more along the lines of chili, or chicken noodle soup. Whichever.”

“Do you have crackers?” Pyro smiled. “I’m not picky. Unless fruit are involved. Or fish.” 

It was Sniper’s turn to frown. “You don’t like fish? I’ve seen you eat them before.”

She shrugged. “Food is food, but fish isn’t one of my favorites. You’ll eat pretty much anything though, if you’re hungry enough.”

Sniper frowned. “This is America. What do you know about being hungry?”

Pyro sighed. “Even in America, people are poor, people go to bed hungry. Especially when people have alcoholic parents who drink up all the food money and then expect other people to hunt for food.” She shrugged. “Don’t believe everything you hear about America.”

Sniper stood up and went to the small stove. “Well, we’re not gonna be hungry tonight. I’m going with chicken soup, it’ll keep you from getting sick.” He laughed. “After all the snow you rolled around in this evening, I think you need all the help you can get.”

“Hey, most of that snow was not my fault, Sniper. How was I supposed to know you had such good aim?”

“I’m a Sniper, pup. That should have been your first clue.”

Steaming bowls of chicken soup were served and devoured, Pyro realizing that she was much hungrier than previously thought, resorted to wiping her finger around the rim of her bowl and licking it until Sniper brought out a bag of crisps to share with her. Then, it was lights out, genny off and to bed. Pyro, stomach full curled up on the floor in her sleeping bag listening to the wind howl outside. Her eyes soon fluttered closed and she slept.

In the middle of the night a particularly loud bang outside woke Pyro. Perhaps a branch had fallen onto the van, she wasn’t sure. It was pitch dark, and all the heat had leached out of the van into the winter night. She shivered and hunkered further into her sleeping bag, but the down wasn’t enough to keep her warm. Her shivering became more and more pronounced and she curled into a tighter and tighter ball, teeth chattering. 

Sniper woke up when the branch banged into the roof, then closed his eyes and dozed. He woke about ten minutes later to a very odd sound. He sat straight up in his bed and focused his ears on the noise. It sounded like bone clattering together. He reached out a hand, looking for the flashlight he kept under his pillow and pulled it out. He flicked it on and swept it around the van. Pyro’s sleeping bag was the only thing amiss.

“Pyro?” he called her name softly. “Hey, Pyro, you okay?”

Her voice was a muffled reply. “No.” 

He sighed. “What’s wrong, pup?”

“I’m freezing. My head hurts.” She muffled a sob, wiped her eyes, and stuck her head out into the cold. “It’ll be okay, Sniper, just go back to sleep.” 

He shook his head. “Nope. Get up and get over here.” He threw back his blankets and crawled out of bed. The chill air struck him and he cursed. “Come on Py. Get into the bed.” 

 

She stood slowly and trailing her sleeping bag, walked to his bed. She lay down, curling up against the wall and watched him with wide eyes. 

Sniper sighed again. “Don’t worry. I’m not mad. I should have known the floor would get cold.” He smiled tightly. “No insulation down there.” He walked to the sink, got two pain pills and a glass of water and carried them back to her. “Here, take these.”

She obediently swallowed the pills and gulped down the water, then handed the glass back to him. 

“Scoot over.” Sniper lay down on the bed beside her and pulled the blankets back up then draped the sleeping bag over them both. He curled his lanky frame closer to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back against him. He hissed slightly when his hand came into contact with hers. “Bloody hell, girl, you’re like an ice cube.” Reaching down, he chafed her hands softly, trying to rub some warmth back into them. “Why didn’t you say anything?” 

“It was warm when I went to sleep. And then there was a bang and I woke up and it was cold and I couldn’t get warm again.” She curled her back tighter against him, instinctively seeking his heat. He sighed and tucked his chin onto the top of her head, then slid his other arm around her as well. He could feel her warming up already. The shivering was slowing and gradually her breathing evened out as she fell asleep. 

Sniper lay there quietly, holding her, staring into the darkness. He tried to remember the last time he slept with a woman and found himself hard pressed to do so. He was acutely aware of how every breathe she took caused her breast to brush against his arm. “Don’t even think about it.” He thought to himself. “She’s a teammate, not a tramp.” With a sigh, he curled closer to her and finally slept.


	3. Chili Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sniper examines his feelings and lies to Pyro about safety issues. Also, sleeping with a big knife can lead to embarrassing situations.

The morning came with that thin blue light that makes everything look oddly surreal. Sniper opened his eyes to Pyro staring at him. He startled backwards, then chuckled. “Heya pup. How’d you sleep?” 

Pyro smiled. “Well, it was warm. I think you’re part furnace.” She grinned, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “And part chain saw.” She snorted air through her nose, exaggerated snoring.

Sniper frowned. “Just for that, you can sleep on the floor again.” 

Smoke gray eyes widened in mock alarm. “Maybe there was a bear outside. Or a thunderstorm.” She grinned wider and he found himself smiling also. 

“Right, pup. A thunderstorm.” He sighed and rolled over, then pulled back the blankets. “I suppose we ought’a see what the weather looks like outside.” 

He rubbed a small patch of frost from the window and sighed. “Snow. How did I guess? It’s still coming down hard. I don’t think this is gonna end today, pup.” 

Pyro peered out the window beside him and nodded solemnly. “Yeah. I think we’re gonna be here for a while.” 

The day’s workload included clearing out the space beside the van, making certain the tailpipe was clear of snow, and not a whole lot more. By noon, Pyro was so antsy from being confined inside the van that she could not sit still. 

At last she asked Sniper for an axe and explained to him that she wanted to chop some of the smaller branches off the tree limb that has caused them to swerve into the ditch and stack them up for kindling wood. 

Sniper eyed her dubiously but found the small hand axe he used for barbeques and handed it to her. Pyro sighed and held the short blade in her hand, testing its balance. “I reckon it’ll do. I’m never traveling without my gear again, Sniper. This is ridiculous.”

He shrugged, as affected by the confinement as she was. “That’s why I take the van. All my gear in one place, plus food and coffee.” 

Pyro shrugged into her winter gear and went outside, not even bothering to answer him. She knew that she was cranky, and that getting away from Sniper was in both their best interests. Truth be told, she was still a tad bit afraid of his infamous temper. 

Tromping through the snow to the tree, she began chopping at limbs with the small hand axe, each blow precise and effective. As the afternoon passed, the snow changed to huge fluffy white flakes, looking like little cotton balls falling from the sky. Pyro picked up the armload of wood she’d cut and carried it to the side of the van, stacking it neatly. She went back to the branch and began trying to shift it out of the road. It was as big around as her thigh at the base and stretched completely across the highway and into the forest on the other side. Pyro strained, her boots not finding much purchase on the snow packed road. She had just managed to shift it a few inches when Sniper’s gloved hands joined her own on the branch. He picked it up with a grunt and, with her help, managed to shift it a few feet before dropping it.

Placing his hands on his knees, he rested his back, breathing hard for a moment. A soft shuffling in the forest caught his attention and he looked up. A doe was walking through the trees, head up, ears swiveling. Liquid brown eyes met his, her tail flew up like a warning flag, and he glanced over at Pyro. She was watching the doe, breath pluming from her mouth in slow clouds. The snowfall lent a soft quality to the air, making the encounter seem almost magical. Sniper released his held breath slowly, a smile stretching across his lips from the sheer beauty of the doe. 

Suddenly, the doe’s head snapped to the side, her ears picking up some sound from deeper in the forest and in a flash of brown and white, the doe ran past them and disappeared into the forest on the other side. 

Pyro touched his hand and pointed silently. A wolf ghosted past a tree, blending with the snow and the forest. Then another and another appeared, paws soundless in the fresh powder, the quiet panting of their breath the only sound for miles. Sniper counted ten before they were past, huge shaggy animals, fur rimed in ice, gold eyes far too intelligent for comfort. As the last one passed them, it turned its head, looking directly into Sniper’s eyes in challenge. 

Sniper dropped his eyes, then glanced at Pyro. She was standing her ground, eyes downcast. He nodded in approval. As the last wolf turned away and melted into the snowy forest, they headed back to the van. 

“Did you see them? Sniper, there were wolves!” Pyro was practically bouncing up and down in excitement. “They were gorgeous! Don’t you think so?” She was hopping around the van by this point, talking fast. “And the deer, the deer was just there! It was magical, Snipes! Like something out of a book!”

Sniper laughed at her enthusiasm. “You’d think you’ve never seen a wolf before, pup.” He sat down at the small table with his machine pistol and began checking it over. Suddenly he glanced up at her. “Have you?”

She shook her head. “Nah, they don’t live where I do. This was my first time, other than pictures.” She shifted in her seat. “We have plenty of coyotes, but no wolves.” She looked down, suddenly sad. “There used to be wolves, but they were all killed off.” 

Sniper nodded. “Yeah, people tend to wipe out the alpha predators, then wonder why the environment is so out of whack.”

Pyro stared out the window, eyes sad. “At least it’s not snowing as hard.” She said quietly. 

Sniper stood and went to the front of the van, leaving her with her thoughts. When he came back, her head was on the table and she was breathing softly and evenly. He took a small blanket from his bed and draped it over her shoulders, then allowed his hand to run over her hair in a feather light touch before going back to cleaning his weapons.

While Pyro napped at the table, Sniper washed the dishes from breakfast and then started on dinner preparations. Chili was on the menu. He’d watched Engie make it, then tried it himself a few times. He had to say, Sniper Chili wasn’t bad at all. As he sliced onions and browned hamburger, he contemplated the sleeping Pyro and his reactions to her. He felt… protective. That was the best word he could find to describe it. He’d never needed to protect anyone before, and he had a feeling that this Pyro could take care of herself, at least on the battlefield she could, but something about her made him want to keep her safe. Perhaps it was the situation, he thought. Being stranded on the road in the middle of a blizzard was skewing his perspective of the situation. But, she was lively and she made him laugh without being overbearing like Scout. Hell, if Scout had hit him with a snowball, he probably would have beaten him to a pulp, not thrown snowballs back. She made him feel like a kid again. Sniper sighed. It had been a long time since he’d felt even remotely like a kid. 

Sniper stirred tomato paste and spices into the chili. It was starting to smell really good. He took another pack of crackers out of the cupboard and set them on the table. He looked out the window as the chili simmered and frowned. Had he just imagined the dark shape drifting from tree to tree? He stared harder, but the window was fogging up, obstructing his view. 

Sniper went to the door and opened it, peering out into the gloom. The sun was starting to set, casting long shadows across the snow. He listened carefully, but the forest was silent. Sniper frowned. He could have sworn he’d seen something. 

Closing the door carefully, he strapped his kukri onto his thigh and stirred the chili. Pyro stirred at the table and lifted her head, looking at him bleary eyed with sleep. 

“What’s that smell?” She sniffed. “It’s amazing.” 

Sniper spooned chili into a bowl and set it in front of her. Steam rose off the bowl, and she inhaled deeply. “Wow, you made this?” 

Sniper nodded, pride filling his chest. “Taste it before you call it amazing, but I like it.” He sat across from her with his bowl. “I stole the recipe from Engie.” 

 

Pyro crumbled crackers into the chili, then dipped her spoon in and blew on it. Sniper found himself distracted by the way her lips pursed as she blew the spoonful.

Shaking his head to distract himself, he looked out the window. “If you have to go outside, take my gun.” It was the first thing that came to his mind, and he immediately wished he could take it back. 

Pyro looked at him, eyes widening. “What’s up?” She asked, voice all business now. 

Sniper shrugged. “I thought I saw something. Probably just shadows, but it don’t hurt to be wary.” He sighed. “Even if there is an animal out there, it’s probably more scared of us than we are of it.” Unless it’s starving, he thought.

Pyro nodded. “Not a problem, Snipes. Maybe the deer came back.” She took a bite of chili and moaned in bliss. “Oh my god… This is amazing.” She winked at him. “I won’t tell Engie that your chili is better than his.” 

Sniper nodded. Honestly, Engie had already said his chili was better, but Sniper kept that fact to himself. After dinner, he stood, placed their dishes in the sink and turned back the blankets on the bed. “In.” He pointed from her to the bed. 

Pyro stood and looked at him. “In? Really, Sniper?” She frowned. “Next you’ll snap your fingers and tell me to heel.” 

Sniper looked at her, puzzled. She was balking now? This was not the time, not with him on edge about whatever he had or hadn’t seen earlier. When he thought of the grey shadow lurking outside, his fingers drifted to the hilt of his kukri. Pyro’s eyes followed his hand down and she stood suddenly and walked past him to lay down on the bed. 

“Sorry.” Her voice was small, she was curled up in a ball like a child and watching him with big grey eyes. 

Sniper’s brows lifted in puzzlement. Then he took in her posture and sighed. He’d frightened her and guilt crashed down on him like a tidal wave. “Aw, Pup, no, I didn’t mean to scare ya.” He sighed again. “I just wanted to turn the genny off and save the gas.” He sat down on the bed next to her. “Honest, I wasn’t thinking, just letting my mouth get ahead of me.”

“So, you’re not mad?” The questioning tone and the softness of her voice cut into him. 

Sniper shook his head. “Hell no, you haven’t done anything to make me mad.”

With another sigh, he stood up and shut off the genny, then returned to the bed and folded his lanky body in next to her. “I just didn’t think that sleeping on the floor was a good idea after last night, and I…” He shook his head in the dark. “I’m not always good with talking to people. Spent too much time on my own, I guess. Hell, half the time, I don’t even think to tell people what I’m thinking. I just expect them to know.” He chuckled quietly. “That don’t work out too well, usually.”

Pyro turned her back against his stomach, spooning into him for the warmth. “It’s fine. You don’t have to explain.” Her voice was laced with sadness and regret. “The others don’t even want to ride in the same vehicle with me ‘cause I might set it on fire.” 

Sniper snorted out loud. “You think that’s why they didn’t take you in the truck?”

He felt her head nod against his chest. “They don’t act like they’re afraid of me, but I catch ‘em looking at me out of the corners of their eyes like they’re just waiting for me to explode.”

Sniper sighed. “They keep an eye on you because you’re a girl. Not because they’re afraid of you.” He shook his head. “You really think we know what to do around a girl? Hell, Engie had to give Scout a talk about wearing pants right after you got to base. And you got the joy of riding with me because it’s sort of an initiation. I always get stuck with the new guy, and then they bet on whether or not the new guy will survive the trip.” He laughed. “It was close with Scout. I put him out three miles from base and made him run in front of the van.”

Pyro put a hand over her mouth, stifling her laughter. “You did not!”

Sniper laughed out loud. “Ask him about it.” 

“Can I ask you one more thing?”

“Sure.” Sniper thought he noted a hint of trepidation in her voice.

“Umm, not to be rude, but what the hell is poking me in the back?”

Sniper cursed out loud as he found the handle of his kukri and awkwardly moved it away from her. “Sorry about that.” He finally said after a brief struggle to get it away from her.

She chortled softly. “I just wasn’t sure if it was your knife, or if you were really happy.”

They laughed together for a moment. Finally Sniper said “Night pup. Sleep well.”

Pyro replied softly. “Night Sniper. See you in the morning.”


	4. Red Riding Hood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danger threatens our team! A very short chapter, but full of action...

When morning came, Sniper woke up first and, moving carefully so he didn’t wake Pyro, crawled out of the bed. He looked out the window and saw blue sky for the first time in two days. He sighed in relief and then started the genny to warm the van up a bit. He thought it would be nice to have it warm in here before she woke up. It ran for a moment, then coughed and sputtered to a stop. 

Sniper cursed quietly and began to pull on his coat. The spare gas can was on the back of the van, he would have to go outside, grab it, refill the tank on the genny, then come back in and start it up again. He opened the door and stepped out. Snow squeaked under his boots. There didn’t seem to be any fresh snowfall over the night and for that he was thankful. Perhaps they could get out of this ditch sometime today. He paused halfway around the van, almost certain that he’d seen something moving at the edge of the trees. 

Sniper reached for his kukri, then remembered that he’d unsheathed it last night and laid it up to keep it out of Pyro’s back. He thought about going back in for it, then decided that he’d probably only seen the wind moving a tree branch or a bird flitting about. He trudged to the back of the van and unstrapped the heavy gas can, lifting it out of its holder and sitting it on the ground. As he bent over to lift it again, a heavy weight struck him in the back. 

Sniper stumbled forward, head banging into the back of the van. For a split second he thought that Pyro had followed him out and snowballed him again, then he felt the burning pain running across his back. Straightening, he reached back and felt the hem of his coat. It was shredded, and when he pulled his fingers back around, they were covered in blood. 

Sniper was whirled sideways as a huge gray wolf jumped around the corner of the van and caught his coat sleeve. He felt his feet slip and pin wheeled his arms frantically. He knew that if he fell out here, he would be torn to shreds. Two more wolves came out of the brush and snapped at him, keeping him off balance. Then a large black wolf jumped out of the tree line, bounding across the snow straight at him. Sniper’s free arm flew up to protect his throat. That barely slowed the huge animal as it barreled into him. It gripped his coat collar firmly, shaking him the way a terrier shakes a rat. The animal’s hot, rancid breathe washed over his face, making him gag. He felt his feet slide out from under him and prepared to meet his maker. 

A shot rang out in the cold crisp air and the wolf dropped. Blood was pouring out of a wound on the side of its head. Two more shots rang out as Pyro came charging forward, bare feet sliding in the snow. She reached Sniper and pulled on his shoulder. 

“Sniper! Sniper!” She yelled at him. “Come on, get up!” She was pulling hard, managing to move him a few feet when his vision darkened and he slipped into unconsciousness.

Pyro stared down at the Sniper. One of her hands was wrapped firming in his coat, the other held his gun out in front of her, waving it like a club at the remaining wolves. She had just woken up when she heard the fighting outside and had only taken time to grab Sniper’s Carbine from the table. She was barefoot and coatless, and the cold was close to unbearable. 

She tried to drag him again, getting him to slide another few feet in the slick snow, leaving bloody crimson patches along the way. One of the wolves began to slink in from her right, Pyro turned the Carbine in that direction and fired as another flanked her on the left. Seeing its opportunity, it leaped at her, teeth ripping into her arm. Pyro yelped in pain and her grip on Sniper loosened. She yelled as a wolf gripped Sniper’s boot in its mouth and began pulling him toward the trees. Dropping the barrel of the Carbine, she fired. The shot grazed the wolf’s shoulder and it howled in pain, letting go of Sniper’s boot. 

Pyro leaned over, blood dripping from her torn arm. Grabbing Sniper’s jacket again, she heaved him toward the back of the van, then positioned her feet in front of him. At least there was a wall to her back, she thought. That was one less direction to be attacked from. Pyro planted her feet, braced for an attack. Some small part of her mind told her she should be scared, but the battle fury was taking over now. Pyro welcomed it with open arms. The wolves circled her, slipping in and out of the tree line like mist. She raised the Carbine and sighted, then fired, dropping a small grey wolf in its tracks. The others seemed to take this as a signal. 

They charged as one, and Pyro fired off five more shots before the gun clicked in her hand. Pyro cursed and the wolves were on her. She used the Carbine as a club, blocking snarling mouths and hitting wolf snouts with it, but she was being overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Although she’d taken out six of the wolves, four against one in hand to hand combat, or hand to paw as the case may be, was too much. Pyro shrieked as teeth tore at her exposed ankle, hamstringing her. Unable to support her weight, she toppled into the snow on top of Sniper. 

Rolling onto her back, she continued to fight, but the wolves seemed to be everywhere. Her ears pinpointed a loud growling over the snarling wolves and she braced herself for death. She was barely fighting off the four that were left. Three now, she thought as she managed to club one into unconsciousness. 

A wolf sank its teeth into her thigh and began pulling at her, and another clamped her wrist in its jaws. She screamed in pain as her bones snapped like twigs under the pressure and fresh blood stained the snow. The third wolf was snapping at her face, her free hand was wrapped in the fur of its neck, her elbow locked in an attempt to keep the wolf from her throat. The growling noise was so loud now and there was a weird sound with it, almost like scraping. 

Pyro prayed that it was a plow, maybe they could save Sniper. She was being dragged across the snow by the pack, toward the woods. Suddenly, a gunshot rang through the clearing and the wolf she was straight-arming dropped. Two more shots, and the last two wolves were running. Pyro tried to sit up in the snow. She made it to her elbows before dropping back into the snow and gazing straight up at the blue, blue sky. Her ears were ringing, but she was sure she heard familiar voices. Suddenly Heavy’s broad form filled her vision. She managed a smile as he scooped her up in his arms and began walking with her. Then she was being set down in warmth, and she closed her eyes blissfully, soaking in the heat for a moment. 

She thought of Sniper and opened her eyes again. Heavy had placed her on the seat of an unfamiliar truck and Medic was standing beside her with his Medigun, the comforting rosy light beginning to stream from it. 

“Snipes…” She croaked. “Where?”

Medic shushed her. “Heavy is bringing him now.” 

Pyro let her head fall back on the truck seat and closed her eyes.


	5. Awwww....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fluff, the fluff, drowning in the stuff....

When Pyro woke up, she was laying in blessed warmth. A calloused hand was running through her hair, smoothing it back from her forehead gently. Pyro opened her eyes. The first thing that registered was the long jeans clad leg her head was resting on. She smiled. “Snipes?” 

His hand paused for a moment. “Yeah?” 

“How did we get back in the van?” She stirred but chose to remain in his lap. “The last thing I remember is Heavy putting me in a truck.”

His hand resumed its long calming strokes through her hair. “Heavy and Medic came looking for us in a snowplow they ‘borrowed’ from some guys who live near the base.” He chuckled softly. “Heavy says that when he found us, you were standing over me, barefoot, using my gun as a club and holding your own against a pack of wolves. Heavy thinks you are a goddess now.” He muttered something under his breath, too low for her to hear. 

“What was that?” she asked. 

“I said,” Sniper took a deep breath, his voice trembling a bit, “He’s not the only one.” His hand dropped onto her head and lay still. He took a deep hitching breath, then sniffed loudly. 

Pyro twisted in his lap and peered up at him. “What’s wrong?” 

He looked down at her with sad eyes. “I should have been the one protecting you. I shouldn’t ever have let myself get taken down by those wolves. You could’ve been killed, pup. Fact is, if the team hadn’t showed up when they did, you would have been killed.” He shook his head, a loose strand of hair flopping down over his forehead. “I don’t know what I would do if that happened.”

Pyro reached up and pushed the hair back into place. “Snipes, are you getting attached?” 

“Shit. I think so, pup.” He looked at her with sad eyes then looked away. “I know you don’t feel like that. I mean, hell, I’m prolly old enough to be your dad or something. And I don’t expect you to feel like that toward me. But, I do, and now it’s out there.” He laughed softly, his cheeks red. “Now that I’m done making a fool of myself, I think I’ll go outside until the guys get back with Engie.”

Pyro sat up and watched as he stood. He wiped his hands on his jeans, almost a reflexive gesture and walked to the van’s door. “Hey Snipes,” her voice was soft. “Would it make you feel better to know that you’re not the only one getting attached?” 

He stood still, his back to her. His hand remained on the doorknob, ready to flee. “You, ummm, you wouldn’t just tell me that shit to make me feel better, would ya?” He glanced over his shoulder at her, distrust crossing his face for a brief moment. “That’d be cruel.”

Pyro got up from the bed and walked over to him. She reached up one hand and pulled his head down, her lips brushing hesitantly against his. 

Sniper’s arms went around her, pulling her close, his hands wandering up and down her back in gentle strokes. He smiled and tilted his head down to hers, lips finding hers and deepening the kiss. 

Pyro moaned in pleasure as a fire of a different sort started to burn low in the pit of her stomach. Wrapping her arms around him, she tucked her chin under his head, marveling at how perfectly they fit together. “Trust me, Snipes.” She leaned back and looked up into his face, her eyes soft and warm. “I just wrestled a wolf for ya. I’m planning on keeping you.”


End file.
